With only one week left to the Tet Festival 2022 which will begin on February 1, functional bodies in Da Nang have been taking drastic solutions to ensure traffic order and safety before, during and after Tet.

Traffic inspectors from the municipal Department of Transport check traffic safety regulations at the Da Nang Coach Station. Photo taken in January 2022 by THANH LAN.

Deputy Chief of Traffic Inspection Division of the Da Nang Department of Transport Nguyen Phung Hien said that, according to the Vietnamese Ministry of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs, employees of agencies and departments nationwide, plus those of political and social organisations, will officially have 9 days off work (from January 29 - February 6) for Lunar New Year 2022.

He added that Tet is Viet Nam's biggest and most important national holiday of the year, so traffic order and safety during Tet is always complicated and unpredictable when the volume of people and personal vehicles in traffic significantly increases. Meanwhile, the phenomenon of drinking alcohol and beer while driving is quite common, as well as groups of young people and teenagers often gather around, swinging, racing, etc.,. This leads to an increase in the number of road traffic accidents.

In an effort to ensure the city’s traffic order and safety over the forthcoming Tet Festival, the Da Nang Traffic Safety Committee has been taking even more drastic measures.

Specifically, top priority has been given to increasing patrols and checks to detect and strictly handle the violations of traffic laws and criminal cases on roads, railways and waterways in tandem with ensuring the COVID-19 prevention and control.

Da Nang Police has launched a traffic safety campaign in the city until February 14 to ensure local traffic order and safety, especially over the forthcoming Tet holiday.

Da Nang traffic police are being out across the city working proactively to target those flouting the law. They are swarming main streets to carry out random vehicle stops in a bid to detect and deal with alcohol and drug-related violations by road users. Strict punishment will be imposed traffic violations to mitigate the happening of traffic accidents in the city.

In addition, stricter penalties will be imposed on road users who exceed the speed limit, zigzag through traffic, pick up or drop off passengers at unpermitted locations, or are found to be involved in illegal motorbike racing.

The Da Nang Department of Transport has coordinated with the municipal Transportation and Bus Station Management JSC to conduct three inspection visits from December 25, 2021 to February 10, 2022, to passenger coaches. The purpose is to check the legal operation of coaches, the installation of data monitoring devices, the declaration and display of ticket prices, the transparent sale of coach tickets, the drivers’ alcohol concentration before driving a vehicle, and the strict compliance with COVID-19 prevention regulations.

More effective measures will be taken to ensure enough means of transport for migrant workers to return to their hometowns to celebrate Tet with their families.  

Reporting by THANH LAN - Translating by M.DUNG